This Summit is taking place two years after its original date, because of the pandemic. This meeting of the Heads of State of the 54 Commonwealth countries will meet in Kigali. Prime Minister, Pravind Jugnauth leaves Mauritius today, the 22th June. Mauritius’ Chief Diplomat and Foreign Minister, Alan Ganoo, also in the delegation, has already left the country on Monday 20 June. For the first time, the Head of the Commonwealth, Elizabeth II, will not be attending the Summit!
Commonwealth was born in its present form in 1949 with the Declaration of London, which recognized member states as “free and equal”. This 26th Summit will be held from 20 to 26 June. The event will be attended by 54 Heads of State and around 5,000 delegates. Exceptionally for this year, Queen Elizabeth II, who celebrated her Platinum Jubilee, 70 years of reign on 5 June, has given way to her son, Prince Charles, the heir to the throne and therefore, the next official representative of the Commonwealth. Prime Minister, Boris Johnson is also a key figure for the UK at the Summit. Attention will be focused on the Prince and especially his Prime Minister after the decision was taken to deport East Africa’s asylum seekers, who are from Rwanda. The British government’s plan is attracting a barrage of criticism from the UN.
Rwanda is the 6th African country to host such a meeting. In 2009, Rwanda became the 54th member country of the intergovernmental organization, which is composed mainly of former British colonies. The dignitaries, including our Head of State, will be welcomed by President, Paul Kagame. During this Summit, many global issues and major political changes will be discussed, such as the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and climate change. The Summit will end on Saturday 25 June with important decisions that will impact the Commonwealth countries.
During the absence of the PM, the DPM, Minister of Tourism and Lands and Housing, Steven Obeegadoo will hold the position of Acting Prime Minister.
